Who is Super Smart Service? Profile of company that owns warehouse ravaged by huge fire
Huge plumes of smoke could be seen towering over the Cannock skyline as firefighters attempted to quell a blaze that has devastated a fulfilment centre headquarters.
The Super Smart Service headquarters building on Cley Road, Cannock, was gutted by a large fire at around 6.30am on Thursday, reducing much of the warehouse to rubble in a blaze that could be seen for over 20 miles.
Residents were told to close their windows and avoid the area while firefighters worked to douse the flames, while stark video and photos by Express & Star photographers show the extent of the damage caused by the gigantic blaze.
The building is owned by distributions solutions group, Super Smart Service, which uses the warehouse on the Kingswood Lakeside Employment Park as its main office.
We've now set out a profile of Super Smart Service amid one of the largest fires in recent Staffordshire history.
Super Smart Service Ltd is a Hong Kong-owned UK subsidiary company, based in the West Midlands since December 2015, specialising in the e-fulfilment of goods to retailers and online shoppers.
The company operates more than 10 warehouse sites across the West Midlands including the Cannock site, including prominent buildings in Aldridge, Lichfield, Wolverhampton and Daventry, together comprising a total capacity of over two million square feet.
Over the years the company has helped boost the regional economy by £50 million, also going on to create more than 300 jobs across the West Midlands.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw the company expand significantly, processing and dispatching more than 70,000 parcels daily as well as offloading more than 60 40ft sea containers every day.
The group rose to prominence in 2020 when it announced that it would create more than 325 jobs in the area by expanding from its headquarters at Kingswood Lakeside Employment Park, and going on to lease two other distribution centre units along with a warehouse warehouse facility on Watling Street, Cannock.
For its efforts, the company was one of four major groups shortlisted for the Cannock Chase Chambers of Commerce annual awards.
Super Smart Service was one of two businesses nominated for the Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield and Tamworth and Cannock Chase Large Businesses of the Year award, alongside Crown Highways of Burntwood.
In April 2021, St Mowden Logistics completed a deal with Super Smart Service at the 50-acre Cley Road site, also signing a 15-year lease on a new 103,947 sq ft warehouse at St Mowden's Park in Burntwood.
In 2022 Super Smart Service registered a total of 429 employees across all of its sites, also registering a total turnover of over £46 million for the year.
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